The Acehnese past and its present state of study R. Michael ... - kitlv

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34 Daniel Perret or indirectly, they are linked to cultural traditions that seem to have developed in Aceh since around the beginning of the fi fteenth century. Ancient Muslim tombstones of Aceh Aceh is by far the richest area of the Malay world for archaeological evidence in the form of Muslim tombstones, particularly for the graves of highranking individuals and members of their families. At least three signifi cant artistic traditions can be distinguished in this type of monument. The most spectacular is represented by the white marble tombstones imported from Gujarat to Pasai at the beginning of the fi fteenth century. 10 Another tradition, the origin of which has yet to be identifi ed, takes the form of pillars (Montana 1997:86). The third and best represented tradition is most likely of local origin and is known as batu Aceh in the neighbouring regions, especially in the Malay Peninsula. In fact, as early as the mid-fi fteenth century, such tombstones, characterized by their shapes and decorations, were used in Johor. They were also later used in Pattani, in present-day southern Thailand, and as far afi eld as South Sulawesi. Imported or imitated until the beginning of the twentieth century, these tombstones exhibit various shapes, are often richly carved, and constitute evidence of the great cultural infl uence of the sultanates of Pasai and Aceh in the Malay Muslim world. Nearly 500 such monuments have been described in detail during recent surveys conducted in peninsular Malaysia (Perret 2004; Perret, Razak and Kalus 1999, 2004). To our knowledge, such a general inventory – the basis for comprehensive studies – is sorely lacking for Aceh itself. In fact, Aceh has the greatest number of these monuments, perhaps 1,500 (Perret 2007:318). Unfortunately, many of them have disappeared or were damaged during the 2004 tsunami. Approximately 350 of them carry inscriptions with historical data of prime importance for the history of the kingdoms of the northern part of Sumatra. 11 An epigraphical study of these tombstones is currently being carried out by Kalus and Guillot. Conclusion By combining the archaeological data published to date with local and foreign written sources, it is possible to partly reconstruct the ‘urban’ landscape of Aceh and the surrounding areas of northern Sumatra between the ninth and fi fteenth centuries. A preliminary list exceeding 20 settlements, all of them 10 For recent studies on these monuments, see Lambourn 2003b. 11 L. Kalus, personal communication, January 2007.
Aceh as a fi eld for ancient history studies 35 requiring comprehensive archaeological research, has been drawn up here. The example of Barus shows that controlled excavations conducted at these sites could yield major contributions to the history of Aceh itself, and, more generally, to the history of the Indian Ocean world. Bibliography Alves, Jorge M. Santos O Domínio do Norte de Samatra; A História dos sultanatos de Samudera- Pacém, Achém, e suas relações com os Portugueses (1500-1580). Lisbon: Sociedade Histórica da Independência de Portugal. Battuta, Ibn 1995 ‘Voyages et périples’, in: P. Charles-Dominique (ed. and trans.), Voyageurs Arabes. Paris: Éditions Gallimard. Bellwood, Peter 1985 Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian archipelago. Sydney: Academic Press. Bouchon, Geneviève 1979 ‘Les premiers voyages Portugais à Pasai et à Pegou (1512-1520)’, Archipel 18:127-57. Braginsky, Vladimir 2004 The heritage of traditional Malay literature. Leiden: KITLV Press. Bressan, L. 1997 ‘Odoric of Pordenone (1265-1331)’, Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 70-2:1-23. Coedès, G. 1964 Les états Hindouisés d’Indochine et d’Indonésie. Paris: De Boccard. Cortesão, Armando (ed. and transl.) 1990 The Suma oriental of Tomé Pires. New Delhi/Madras: Asian Educational Services. Cowan, H.K.J. 1940 ‘A Persian inscription in North Sumatra’, Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (TBG) 80:15-21. Dion, Mark 1970 ‘Sumatra through Portuguese eyes; Excerpts from João de Barros’ “Decadas da Asia”’, Indonesia 9:129-62. Drakard, Jane (ed.) 2003 Sejarah raja-raja Barus. Jakarta: École Française d’Extrême-Orient, Gramedia Pustaka Utama. Forestier, H. 2007 Ribuan gunung, ribuan alat batu. Jakarta: KPG/EFEO/IRD/Puslitbang Arkenas/Forum Jakarta-Paris. Guillot, C., H. Surachman, and D. Perret (eds) 2003 Histoire de Barus; Le site de Lobu Tua; II: Étude archéologique et documents. Paris: Association Archipel. [Cahier d’Archipel 30.] Iskandar, Teuku 1958 De Hikayat Atjeh. ’s-Gravenhage: Nijhoff.
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